Sony Nex-5n + Voigtlander Nokton 40mm 1.4 SC is a-m-a-z-i-n-g

I know there are a lot of Voigtlander threads around but not much on how SC and MC differs. I have just got the lens last week and only yesterday that I was able to play with it. Took a 100-ish photos and some of them really caught my eye.

The detail this lens captures is just fenomenal. I tried the summicron 35f2 once and yes it is on another league but this for less than USD500 is enough to get my passion to photography burning again.

On to the SC vs MC argument, I personally had a chance to try my friend's MC version and both renders similar results, but once you switch to B&W mode the SC really does shine. It captures better shadow detail and has better dynamic range. Some may think that the SC is better for B&W and MC is better for color, I'd say it is probably correct when you're using film/analogue cameras, but when you use it on digital camera like the Sony Nex, you will want to have better dynamic range and shadow detail because you can manage the saturation and contrast in the camera.

Glad you like the lens. However, I'm surprised by the softness of these images. I have one of the VC pancakes (21mm f4 Color Skopar), and am amazed by its sharpness. Were you shooting wide open for these? Very low shutter speed?

Glad you like the lens. However, I'm surprised by the softness of these images. I have one of the VC pancakes (21mm f4 Color Skopar), and am amazed by its sharpness. Were you shooting wide open for these? Very low shutter speed?

Well I did shoot wide open but I am beginning to question the sharpness issue that you mention because to my eyes they are quite sharp, the problem is that I took it from my facebook page so it is heavily compressed. I posted one above your post that is of full-res JPEG without editing, what do you think about that one? I have yet to shoot on broad daylight so I don't know how well it performs stopped down. Thanks for your input

They don't look soft to me, just low DOF. If you look for the areas that are in focus, like the brick near the lower-right 1/3rd intersection in the bricks photo, these look quite sharp (from what I can see at this resolution).

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Nex-7 with kit lenses, Contax G 35, and a number of legacy lenses (mostly Canon FD)

Here are a couple of black and white shots with the MC version of the 1.4 +5n

Come to think of it, I've never really thoroughly compared the MC version with the SC, which I just got as well. A friend who has owned both say that you cant tell which one's which just by looking at the photos.

On another development, I just got myself an orange color correction filter, what I can tell is that it darkens the skin color when shot in B&W. Have not tested shooting landscape

They don't look soft to me, just low DOF. If you look for the areas that are in focus, like the brick near the lower-right 1/3rd intersection in the bricks photo, these look quite sharp (from what I can see at this resolution).

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Nex-7 with kit lenses, Contax G 35, and a number of legacy lenses (mostly Canon FD)

Thank you for taking time to analyze the photos. I wonder how the Contax/Zeiss Biogon compare to the cheaper Voigtlander. I know the bokeh from the Voigtlander can be harsh, but it's the best I can afford at the moment.

All digital shots require sharpening. It is just a fact of life of how digital images work. Further, different amounts and techniques of sharpening need to be used depending on the output medium (screen? Print? )

Sharpening may have been applied in camera or/and post processing. Even RAW images have some sharpening applied to them by the program that turns raw data into an image.

All digital shots require sharpening. It is just a fact of life of how digital images work. Further, different amounts and techniques of sharpening need to be used depending on the output medium (screen? Print? )

Sharpening may have been applied in camera or/and post processing. Even RAW images have some sharpening applied to them by the program that turns raw data into an image.

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Mike FewsterAdelaide Australia

Thanks Mike, I wonder how much sharpness is enough, I can't seem to be pleased with bumping up clarity/sharpness in LR, maybe when I'm shooting street/human interest that I can benefit from some clarity bump?